Tag Archives: NFL

Atlanta Falcons Expecting a Beautiful New $1 Billion Stadium

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

Arthur Blank, the venerable owner of the Atlanta Falcons, has thoroughly expressed his desire for a new retractable roof stadium as a new home for his franchise. The Georgia Dome, bland as can be, is 20-years-old. In negotiating with the city for a new stadium, he found leverage anywhere he could, including threatening to move the Falcons to LA. Luckily it won’t come to that.

The city of Atlanta, state of Georgia, Georgia World Congress Center & Atlanta Falcons have agreed to build a retractable-roof stadium, with a potential cost of around $1 billion, on the GWCCA campus in time for the 2017 NFL season.

This is great new for the Falcon fans, especially those who don’t live in Atlanta and won’t have to pay for this new stadium (with their tax funds). Ever better news, they’re not planning a cookie cutter Bank of America style stadium. They have some pretty outlandish ideas to incorporate (on top of the retractable roof). This video details some. They include club seats that vibrate during big plays, a lounge for fantasy footballers, and a 100-yard sports bar. It is to be a landmark that people will come from all over to see.

 The Pantheon

Could we see a Chick-fil-A Bowl or a National Championship played in this epic new stadium? I believe so. In fact, I’m confident we’ll see a National Championship played in Atlanta within the next 10-15 years. It is the capital of college football and it just feels right. The college football playoff is already making it appear likely. Atlanta is quickly starting to feel as major as Los Angeles and Chicago. Not just little brother anymore. Good for the Falcons!

If you enjoyed this post, please click the Facebook “Like” button on the right sidebar. You can share your opinions in the comment section below or by tweeting to @Ryan_Kantor. Thanks for reading!

2013 SEC Football Preview: Because It Is Never Too Early For A Season Preview, A Guest Blog Post

Posted on by bigfudge74

After releasing my “Decade Ahead” rankings for the ACC, an old college buddy reconnected with me and asked if he could do the same for his beloved SEC. Given that he coaches football and works in collegiate athletics, I figured he was pretty knowledgeable and worthy (if not overqualified) to write a guest blog post.  He took a decidedly shorter-term view, looking only to next season, rather than the long 5-10 year window I attempted to write towards. Don’t worry, he promises the decade outlook is on the way. So here it is, I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

…

After another exciting College Football season, now comes the bowl lull. That lovely period every year where fans are experiencing withdrawal and are coping the best they can by watching uninspired NFL matchups (e.g., Cardinals vs. Seahawks last Sunday). The other best way to cope with the lull is to have the fun and unproductive debate of who will improve and who will digress next season. To pass the time until the first bowl game (which be honest, no matter how bad it is you will watch) let us explore next season’s outlook in the SEC.

Love it or hate it the SEC has been the face of college football for the past six to 10 years (you can thank Ohio State and the rest of the Big Ten for that for getting hosed every year by the SEC in the BCS). The conference continues to roll out great teams every year and the next season should be no exception.

(My somewhat early) 2013 SEC Power Rankings:

1.  Alabama – As has become custom, we will all pencil in the Tide as the best in the conference and most likely a top three preseason ranked team. The fact is, the sport’s most polarizing coach, (outside of the wildly entertaining Steve Spurrier) Nick Saban, has built Tuscaloosa into the home of the country’s perennial powerhouse on the football field. The Crimson Tide has redefined the phrase “We don’t rebuild, we reload” as year after year they churn out NFL prospects and plug in new pieces which perform at that same high level.

Next season will be no exception, the young defense will get another off-season under their belt and emerge as an even more fierce and well-schooled unit than they have been this season. Offensively, we have seen the emergence of freshmen running back T.J. Yeldon and freshman reciever Amari Cooper, which has SEC foes shaking that they will have to defend these playmakers for at least two more seasons. They will be a consistent unit that will have a slight tail off from this season as they replace pieces on the offensive line. This will not be enough to keep the Tide from rolling more next season with a relatively weak SEC schedule.

P.S. Virginia Tech better duck for cover week one as Alabama routinely beats up on their prime time early season matchups.
Projected 2013 Record: 12-0

2.  Florida – This pick may be a slight surprise to many of you as Florida is poised to lose its three best players next season (Gillislee, Elam, and Floyd). However, it is what the Gators return from this Sugar Bowl bound squad that makes them so deadly and has Gainesville buzzing. The defense will return three starters along the defensive line, three at linebacker (with injured “buck” linebacker and fierce pass rusher Ronald Powell returning), and two deep at corner (four in total). With all this talent returning from a unit which is arguably the nation’s best defense this season, there is plenty of reason for optimism.

On the other side of the ball, the Gators will return Quarterback Jeff Driskel, who continues to mature and improve with each passing week, four starting offensive lineman (the Gators will also add two transfers to the line up next season both of which were starters at Nebraska and Maryland), and four receivers. The question marks on offense surround the return of TE Jordan Reed, who was UF’s best receiving threat, and the RB situation. There will be at least a three-headed monster in the backfield at the start of Fall camp, with incumbent Matt Jones competing with incoming freshman Kelvin Taylor (son of NFL and UF legend Fred Taylor) and Adam Lane. This season’s improvement and gained experience by such a young team adds to the likelihood that Will Muschamp’s bunch takes aim at Pasadena next season.
Projected 2013 Record: 12-0

3.  LSU – Once again, the Mad Hatter will put an LSU team out on the field that will win double-digit games. Playing in front of the raucous fans in Death Valley (Sorry Clemson fans, but they do have the hardware to stake claim) is the best home field advantage in the conference outside of the Swamp. LSU continues to recruit top talent and seems to find a new playmaker in the back field each season. Their depth of talent overcomes the poor in-game coaching by the coaching stuff and fuels them to the success.

The reason that the Bayou Bengals are listed only third here, despite my predictions of them beating Bama and Florida, is due to their inconsistency. The Tigers seem to lose their cool at some point every season and are unable to get over the hump in the big game against their SEC adversaries. Whether it is being outcoached in the BCS National Championship Game where they struggled to get to midfield or getting bullied in the Swamp this season, the Tigers just don’t seem capable of consistently making the adjustments necessary in the big games. Next season will prove to have the same issues (not to mention traveling to Bryant Denny) that will keep the Tigers outside of Atlanta, looking in.
Projected 2013 Record: 10-2 (losses to Alabama and UF)

4.  Texas A&M - Johnny Football ladies and gentlemen! The redshirt freshman phenom will be back and ready to take his Aggies to Atlanta. One problem… well, make that two problems: attrition and history. The Aggies lose a lot of talent from their current team next season, namely LT Luke Joekel, LB Sean Porter, and Manzeil’s favorite target Uzoma Nwachukwu. Three big pieces in the machine will be gone and need to be replaced; it will be interesting to see if they can be. History is the other problem Johnny Heisman will have to deal with. After Heisman winning seasons players not only typically have bad bowl game performances, but they struggle the following year. Let’s look at Tim Tebow. He starred in 2007 and put up gaudy numbers that many didn’t think would ever be matched. The following year his touchdown production sunk by double digits (Percy Harvin had a lot to do with that). The fact remains that losing your favorite targets, defenses having a year to study your film, and a regression to the mean all typically lead to more of a solid year for Manziel rather than a repeat performance. Also watch out for a motivated Alabama team rolling into Kyle Field. Keep your head on a swivel young man.
Projected 2013 Record: 10-2 (losses to Alabama and LSU)

5.  UGA – Short and Sweet: the Dawgs will lose a ton of talent on defense. This team will win games in shootouts with “Gurshell” (running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall) leading the way and Aaron Murray making big plays in the play-action passing game. This team will be a ton of fun to watch but without a stout defense behind them, most notably Jarvis Jones, I do not see this team getting past the conference’s best teams.

P.S. I hope the Red and Black enjoyed their soft schedules while they have had them…  Clemson and LSU join South Carolina and Florida as tough teams that will come calling.
Projected 2013 Record: 9-3 (losses to Clemson, LSU, and Florida)

6.  South Carolina, Columbia Campus – No Lattimore, no SEC East title. It’s really is that simple. Connor Shaw has not proven he can take Cocky to the next level and Dylan Thompson still doesn’t have the experience to thrive in the SEC. Without Marcus Williams-Brice may not be the happiest place this next season.
Projected 2013 Record: 9-3 (losses to UGA, Arkansas, and UF)

7.  Arkansas – Tons of talent remain on roster for the Hogs. Bielema seems to be an odd choice, but he will certainly be able to keep egos in check and create the discipline and accountability that John L. Smith just couldn’t. They’ll be a much improved team, but still just unable to keep pace with the big boys.
Projected 2013 Record: 8-4 (losses to A&M, UF,  Alabama, and LSU)

 8.  Ole Miss – Hugh Freeze is making believers of SEC fans. I think I am one of them. I am on the bandwagon and while this season won’t be a home run for the Rebs, there will continue to be improvement for a program that was a doormat just a year ago.
Projected 2013 Record: 7-5 (losses to Alabama, Auburn, LSU, A&M, and Arkansas)

 9.  Auburn – Malzahn was the right hire for Auburn. This is not because he has the proven track record and will keep the Tigers in the mix for the long haul. It is because AD Jay Jacobs has a short fuse and the fans have a shorter one. Malzahn has the right offense for this roster and the Tigers will be much improved from the dumpster fire season they had this year. (They rank below Ole Miss, due to a soft schedule.)
Projected 2013 Record: 8-4 (losses to LSU, A&M, Arkansas, and UGA)

 10.  Mississippi State – Mullen has found the glass ceiling in Starkville. He clearly recognizes it, thus his flirting with the Colorado job, and wants to move on. However he is stuck there again for another year and his Bulldogs will flounder in the brutal SEC West again next season.
Projected 2013 Record: 6-6 (losses to Oklahoma St., Auburn, Ole Miss, South Carolina, UGA, and A&M)

 11.  Vanderbilt – James Franklin has the Dore’s trending upward. Unfortunately trending upward isn’t enough to get past the bullies. Watch out for this team in three to five years though.
Projected 2013 Record: 7-5 (losses to Ole Miss, South Carolina, UGA, A&M, and UF)

 12.  Tennessee– Butch Jones, huh? Good luck to you Vol fans. I am sure the Fire AD Dave Hart sites will start before the Fire Butch Jones ones do.
Projected 2013 Record: 5-7 (losses to Oregon, UF, UGA, S. Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, and Vandy)

 13.  Missouri– The Tigers are going to drunk dial the Big 12 at some point this next season and ask to get back together.
Projected 2013 Record: 5-7 (losses to Vandy, UGA, UF, South Carolina, UT, Ole Miss, and A&M)

 14.  Kentucky – Welcome to the party Mark Stoops. You aren’t going to like your goody bag.
Projected 2013 Record: 3-9 (losses to Louisville, UF, South Carolina, Alabama, Miss. St, Mizzou, Vandy, UGA, and UT)

Please be sure to leave your comments, and I’ll be sure to have our esteemed guest blogger respond to defend his position. Thanks for the guest post! You’re welcome back to write more as our SEC expert. 

As always, please subscribe to this blog by clicking the “Follow” button at the top of the right sidebar. If you don’t have a WordPress account, you’ll have to enter your email address. You can share your opinions in the comment section below or by tweeting to @Ryan_Kantor. Thanks for reading!

Why Yahoo Fantasy Football Is Still Clearly Superior To ESPN’s Best Effort

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

This Sunday was a disaster for Yahoo! Sports, as their entire fantasy football website crashed. Managers were unable to get on to check their teams, or adjust their rosters. Surely, thousands of procrastinating fantasy managers left bye-week players in their lineups.

They have since improved their servers. According to their Twitter account:

We’ve improved the fantasy server issues on PC/mobile & will continue to monitor. We apologize for these issues & will continue to update.

Even with that disaster, they are still a billion times better than ESPN Fantasy sports. Here’s why:
  1. When you’re in the draft room, ESPN doesn’t tell you who the imbecile is that picked the Baltimore Defense in the 6th round. Making it near impossible to rag on the nincompoops in the draft.
  2. Also in the draft room, they just throw out their projections for everyone to use. Woah, woah, that’s too much information. I don’t want the no-nothings in the league to get that information. I will look it up myself and they can clueless take Eli in the third round so I can dominate. Don’t force feed them helpful information. They can get it on their own. Give us nothing more than last year’s stats and your pre-rankings.
  3. No fractional points… Of course you can change this, but ESPN standard doesn’t include fractional points so if you have a player get 199 passing yards, 9 rushing yards, and 9 receiving yards they get 7 fantasy points (1 point for 25 passing yards). 24 passing yards, 9 rushing yards, and 9 receiving yards are completely ignored. Meanwhile, a player with 175 passing yards and 10 rushing yards scores more fantasy points. It’s silly and introduces an absolutely huge element of luck into a game that is already way too luck based. Consider this, each player loses 0-2.7 points based on this scoring (save kickers and defense) and the amount they lose is purely luck based. That’s enough to reshape a league.
  4. The ESPN fantasy league page fosters zero engagement…Zero! There’s a random picture of some players and a little message board off to the side. On Yahoo, there is smack talk with a chatter feed and message boards that stake claim to a large portion of the center page.
  5. The My Team page doesn’t obviously display player stats and points. They make you navigate through a plethora of tabs, none of which actually display the fantasy points. For that you have to launch a flash window. Ridiculous.
  6. ESPN loves Obama! Guaranteed they bring him on amiss a crisis with Iran to make his March Madness selections, and they gush about his brother coaching at Oregon State. Why else would they televise Beaver basketball?
  7. Worst of all, there is only one day each week you can  place your waiver claims, Tuesday.
  8. Worst of all, you can’t set next week’s lineup in advance.
  9. Worst of all…this ad…

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As always, please subscribe to this blog by clicking the “Follow” button at the top of the right sidebar. If you don’t have a WordPress account, you’ll have to enter your email address. You can share your opinions in the comment section below or by tweeting to @Ryan_Kantor. Thanks for reading!

Elway, Broncos Acquire ‘Noodle-Armed’ Manning

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

The wheels are in motion for Peyton Manning to finalize a deal to the Denver Broncos, which means Tim Tebow is out as the star starting quarterback for the team. It seemed probable that Peyton Manning would sign with Tennessee, bringing him back to the state of his alma mater, but it was not to be. The Broncos were likely the most competitive team among Peyton’s options, though they weren’t competitive until Tebow took over at the helm and sparked a run that relied on tremendous defense and clutch offense. The ability to play for a playoff team with a quality coach like John Fox probably played a big role in his decision.

Regardless of why Manning chose Denver, what makes this worth writing about is the weird, personal nature in which Team President John Elway handled the situation. Typically you don’t hear a lot of commentary coming from the front office as we heard coming from Elway during the team’s six game win streak. Elway was so negative it almost seemed that he did not want to see Tebow lead the team victory. Tebow and Bronco fans let him know how they felt via Twitter. One fan called him out directly:

@johnelway you need acting lessons, that you can do a better job at pretending to be happy your team won.

The whole situation was strange, and I still don’t know exactly why Elway was so resentful towards Tebow. My theory is that Elway genuinely doesn’t believe Tim Tebow can be a Super Bowl caliber quarterback (which is a fair opinion), and when he became a national sensation it made it hard for Elway to make purely football decisions, and he resented that. Add on top of that a dislike for Tebow’s squeaky clean personality which made him sound ridiculous anytime he criticized him and there you have it. Peyton Manning’s free agency gave John Elway an excuse to rid himself of Tim Tebow while simultaneously acquiring an objectively superior quarterback.

From here, it appears that Tim Tebow will be traded or released and not start next year. However, the storybook ending to this saga would entail Tim Tebow going back to northern Florida and starting for the Jaguars. That’d be the best case scenario for Tebow (and I think Jacksonville too), but they seem committed to Blaine Gabbert–the Mizzou product who had a marginally better completion percentage than Tebow in 2011. Bleacher Report makes the case for Jacksonville making a move for Tebow. Do you think the Jaguars should abide?

The Broncos will likely make some adjustments to their personnel to accommodate a different offense. They’re reportedly looking into acquiring Manning’s old go-to tight end, Dallas Clark. In my estimation, they’re not talented enough to be excellent, but decent enough to be AFC West favorites (if that means anything). The Broncos will pay Peyton big bucks to have a shot at the Super Bowl in the next two years, and will likely win their fair share of football games, but may find themselves between young and upcoming and veteran and elite. If Peyton remains healthy and can recapture his past glory they’ll have a chance, otherwise they may have invested a lot of money in an aging veteran and moved a young quarterback with off the charts charisma over the team presidents personal issues.

As always, please subscribe to this blog by clicking the “Follow” button at the top of the right sidebar. If you don’t have a WordPress account, you’ll have to enter your email address. You can share your opinions in the comment section below or by tweeting to @Ryan_Kantor. Thanks for reading! 

NHL’s Time to Shine?

Posted on by Tommy D

Great post about Kevin Gregg and David Ortiz. Ortiz is such a hypocritical punk. And Gregg might now be my favorite non-Yankee reliever (the fact that he’s on my fantasy team also makes it easier to root for him).

Anyway, continuing in the sports realm, how interesting is it that there exists the possibility of not only no NFL season, but also no NBA season? I would imagine that losing one — let alone both — of these seasons would be a huge bummer for a large chunk of America. However, as much as I like sports, I’m not sure I’d be too sad.

First of all, the NBA doesn’t do much for me anymore. It’s become such an egotistical game, where players’ images seem to take precedence over the fact that basketball really can be a great team game. College basketball absolutely destroys the NBA in this regard. When you add the fact that my Lakers might be on a downward trend, I realize how minute my interest is at this point.

I would be a little more disappointed if there was no NFL season, but the main loss for me would be the lack of fantasy football. My autumn Sundays would be less interesting, but it wouldn’t be hard for me to survive. And my Packers would be defending champs for another year.

The main reason, however, that I wouldn’t be too bummed about losing these seasons, has to do with the fact that I am an absurdly passionate hockey fan. With the potential absence of the NBA and NFL, maybe hockey will finally get to take center-stage. It’s a hugely under-appreciated sport that combines speed, skill, precision, toughness, and teamwork. Oh, and it’s all on ice.

I wonder what ESPN will do without NBA games to show and without Monday Night Football. What will become of the 68% chunk of SportsCenter that is devoted to the NFL? We can only hope hockey gets more coverage. Of course, it would help if ESPN televised NHL games, but nevertheless, more analysis would be nice. Maybe all those American sports fans without Versus will become subscribers to different TV packages when they see how empty their fall and winter days are.

Is it wrong to wish for no NBA or NFL seasons? Maybe a little, but it is only borne out of a positive emotion — love for hockey. Plus, I am not truly hoping for cancellations of the NBA and NFL seasons; I am just pointing out that this will not be all that bad, and that the best sport in the world — which already suffered through a lockout not long ago — will still be happening.

Revis Island – Population One…a Gordon is Grumbling Follow-up

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

A couple months ago one of our guest bloggers–Mark Gordon–wrote an article about Darrelle Revis’s selfishness during his contract dispute with the Jets. I strongly agreed with his assessment that a contract is a pact, an agreement, and a statement of honor that the player is obligated to fulfill.

Revis is looking a little arrogant here, but I won't hold it against him.

What prompted me to write this article was an interview I heard on 680 The Fan in Atlanta. Darrelle Revis was the guest on Buck and Kincade’s AM sports radio program and he sounded really down to earth. He expressed how tough it was to hold out, but “business is business.” I won’t recap the whole interview, but he also picked the Steelers to win the Super Bowl, which despite some injuries I agree with. He seemed like a pretty cool guy, so after our previous (somewhat negative) blog post I wanted to give him some props.

Finally, I should point out that Tommy is a Packers fan so I want to hear his Super Bowl prediction, with a final score. I look forward to the day when Jacoby Ford leads the Raiders to a Super Bowl. Go Raiders!

Watch it Over Again

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

Sports fans love to complain when there’s a blown call. Choruses of boos routinely come from the bleachers, targeted right at the poor referees who 99 times out of 100 are doing their best and deserve the benefit of the doubt. Instead of complaining why don’t we fix the problem?

Football, being less of a tradition-adoring sport than baseball, and having a more practical application than basketball, took the lead on implementing instant replay. The NFL created a challenge system where coaches could throw a red flag to “challenge” questionable calls. College football followed suit with a similar system.

That said, the football big wigs decided you’d only be able to challenge certain disputes. Clemson lost to Georgia Tech last year on a phantom holding call. The referee called a hold on Thomas Austin, and replay showed that there was nothing even remotely resembling a hold from the Clemson offensive line. Why shouldn’t that be reviewable? Are we so concerned with making the games longer that we’re not going to get calls right? Don’t they have a limited number of challenges anyway? Why shouldn’t coaches be able to challenge any play that’s…wrong?

The NBA has recently expanded the use of replay.  Initially replay was only used to determine if a buzzer beating shot indeed beat the buzzer. They’ve recently expanded the use of instant replay to determine if a shot was a 3-pointer or a 2-pointer. This is another positive step toward making the correct calls without slowing the game down.

America’s true pastime, baseball, has finally joined the rest of the country in attempting to get calls right. Balls hit near the foul pole can be reviewed by replay to determine if they are home runs or foul balls. God bless them, but baseball hasn’t done the best job implementing replay. There are lengthy delays while umpires trot into the club house to huddle around a TV and decide on a call. I’m sure they’re just grabbing snacks while they’re back there. Eventually they’ll streamline the system (have a few guys in the back on standby), but I still give them kudos for trying.

Finally, this one was saved for last because they’re the dumbest for not implementing replay. The World Cup is absolutely crazy to not add at least limited use of replay. The application is so easy. Heck, there are only three or so goals per game. Just review those couple of goals. Check to make sure they crossed the line, and check any goals called back while you’re at it. Why are we sitting around watching 90 minutes of scoreless soccer just to see the only goal called back on an incorrect offside call? The arrogance of FIFA is remarkable. Check out this brutal incorrect call (England’s disallowed goal) and tell me they shouldn’t review all goals. For goodness’ sake, we wait around while players fake injuries; I don’t think anyone would mind waiting while a game’s only goal is reviewed.

So please, tell me how anybody is against at least limited use of replay in sports. If you’re against replay don’t boo the referees next time they miss a call, because to get it right all they have to do is watch it over again.

Tommy, what do they do in the NHL? Please tell me you’re not against replay.